Cinema Centrale - Via Carlo Alberto 27 - Torino

VEDERE LA SCIENZA 2006

Born to survive

Director: Natasha Bondy

Producer: Jessica Cecil, Natasha Bondy

Production: BBC

Executive Producer: Phil Dolling, Alan Bookbinder

United Kingdom

52 min.

2002

Born To Survive is the first episode in a series of four titled Human Instinct. It’s impossible not to recognize the producer of this film: the fast pace, the very detailed images and the quick dialogues are typical of the unmistakable style of BBC’s productions. Every one of us possesses an armoury of instincts which keep us alive. We are often barely aware of them, but they act every day to protect us from danger and keep us fit and healthy. Babies alter the pitch and volume of their screams depending on how urgently they need help. It can reach 97 decibels - equivalent to a pneumatic drill. The rationale behind that? The shriller and more powerful their crying, the quicker their caretakers will respond! And more: we know that a man dies if he doesn’t feed, but there is also stuff that is dangerous if ingested. Millions of years worth of evolution have developed an instinctive refusal of certain tastes and smells, and a preference for sugars and fats, which are precious at times of food scarcity. Finally, we should not be surprised in finding out that even fear and the desire for challenges are part of human nature. This is the legacy of our ancestors who, in an attempt to preserve some fragile balance between risk and conquest, gradually colonized the world over the course of evolution. This explains why many people still won't pass up a challenge even today.